PROMOTING ECOWAS VISION 2020 THROUGH HIGHER EDUCATION

In 2009, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) rolled out a document spelling out five major social, economic and environmental goals it wishes to achieve by 2020. These goals are lofty indeed but they can be achieved only with reliance on not only an enlightened citizenry but also on at least 40 percent of a population that should have received university training. Consequently, university education within the sub-region needs to be reappraised for the purpose of positioning West Africa for the actualisation of its vision. The task of revitalising university education within the countries making up ECOWAS is no more a difficult one as World Bank and international development partners, during the 2009 World Conference on Higher Education, did affirm their commitment to helping Africa develop a virile and relevant higher education system. This commitment shall bear fruit only when the existing low performing higher education structure in the sub-region gives way to a more cost-effective, flexible and massively accessible new structure. This new structure must, by necessity, be Open and Distance Learning based.